Waxing No. 49

No this is not the 49th piece of furniture that I waxed.

It is just what was painted on this crate.

This fantastic old wooden box was given to me by a friend who was sure that I would know exactly what to do to make this a nice decorative piece.  It has so much character for an old crate/box.  Just look at the handles on the side, the two compartments on the inside, and the great stenciling which shows the original use for this box. 

 I decided to wax the box to bring out all of the amazing worn detail accrued over the many years of use.  First I lightly sanded it to get rid of any splintering edges and then vacuumed it out really well.  

Using Annie Sloan's Dark wax and a cheap $1 brush, I began to wax the piece.  I was so excited to wax over the stenciled part, because I was so sure it was just going to pop.  I even recorded it so that I could share the process.  

UNFORTUNATELY, I was so wrong!

Instead of popping, the stenciling disappeared.

So when waxing over old lettering be Cautious!

Here's the video:

Despite my huge mistake,
the wax really made this crate/box a beautiful piece!

I just feel terrible that the white lettering is gone.

Thank you my friend, you know who you are :)